Create Cool Modern Rating Stars in Photoshop

01. First lets create a background – set the background color and then with a Bucket Tool add a pattern over it. You can also add a noise, which is a good alternative (Filter – Noise – Add noise).

02. Now lets create some highlight on our background. Take the Brush Tool, create a new layer and color the upper part of your background with a white color.

03. Now set the white color to Overlay in the Layers window (Window – Layers).

04. Take the Custom Shape Tool and create a shape – it can be any shape you wish your rating to be – stars for picture sites, hearts for dating sites etc.

05. Double click on your shape and go to Gradient Overlay. There set your gradient color and other setting if needed.

06. Then go to Drop Shadow in the same window and add a small dark shadow under your shape. Press OK if ready.

07. Now rasterize your shape by right clicking on the layer and choosing Rasterize. Then Duplicate it – again, right click on the layer and choose Duplicate (or Ctrl + J). With the last star, select half of it and hit Delete.

08. Then create another shape, but this time go to Color overlay (double click on the shape’s layer to access) and choose an inactive color such as grey or black.

09. The go to Drop Shadow and add a small light shadow on your shape. Press OK.